International Student Achievement in Science · Turkey 463 (4.5) i 1 Georgia 455 (3.8) i Iran, Islamic Rep. of 453 (3.7) i Bahrain 449 (3.5) i 1

TIMSS2011INTERNATIONALRESULTSINSCIENCE CHAPTER1 33

Chapter1

International Student Achievement in ScienceKorea and Singapore were the top-performing countries in science in

TIMSS 2011 at the fourth grade, followed by Finland, Japan, the Russian

Federation, and Chinese Taipei. At the eighth grade, Singapore had the highest

average achievement, followed by Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Japan. Finland

was the next highest-performing country.

Since 1995, fourth grade students have shown more improvement

than reduction in science achievement (8 countries up vs. only 1 down),

but improving eighth grade student achievement has been more difficult

(11 up vs. 6 down).

TIMSS2011INTERNATIONALRESULTSINSCIENCE34 CHAPTER1

Chapter 1 contains the science achievement results for the 52 countries and seven benchmarking participants in the fourth grade TIMSS 2011 assessment and the 45 countries and 14 benchmarking participants in the eighth grade TIMSS 2011 assessment. To summarize science achievement across the participants at fourth and eighth grades, the chapter provides:

� Averages (means) and distributions of science achievement;

� Trends in science achievement over time for participants in previous TIMSS assessments in 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007;

� Trends across grades—Relative achievement of the 2007 fourth grade cohort as eighth grade students in 2011;

� Achievement differences by gender; and

� Trends in achievement differences by gender.

The results for percentages of students reaching the TIMSS International Benchmarks (Advanced, High, Intermediate, and Low) are presented in Chapter 2.

ScienceAchievementAcrossCountriesTIMSS 2011 Science AchievementThis section reports the TIMSS 2011 science results as average scores and distributions on the fourth and eighth grade TIMSS scales, each of which has a range of 0–1,000 (although student performance typically ranges between 300 and 700). The TIMSS science achievement scales were established in TIMSS 1995 based on the achievement distribution across all participating countries, treating each country equally. At each grade level, the scale centerpoint of 500 was set to correspond to the mean of the overall achievement distribution, and 100 points on the scale was set to correspond to the standard deviation. Achievement data from subsequent TIMSS assessment cycles were linked to these scales so that increases or decreases in average achievement may be monitored across assessments.1 TIMSS uses the scale centerpoint as a point of reference that remains constant from assessment to assessment.

Exhibit 1.1 shows the distributions of student achievement for the participants in the TIMSS 2011 fourth grade assessment, including the average scale score with its 95 percent confidence interval and the ranges in performance for the middle half of the students (25th to 75th percentiles) as well as the extremes (5th and 95th percentiles). Similarly, Exhibit 1.2 shows the

1 PleaseseeMethods and Procedures in TIMSS and PIRLS 2011ontheTIMSSandPIRLSwebsiteforfurtherdetail(http://timssandpirls.bc.edu).

INTERNATIONALSTUDENTACHIEVEMENTINSCIENCE CHAPTER1 35

distribution of science achievement for participants in the TIMSS 2011 eighth grade assessment.

The first page of Exhibit 1.1 presents the results for the 50 countries that assessed students at the TIMSS target population of the fourth grade. In particular, the TIMSS target population for the fourth grade assessment is the grade that represents four years of schooling, counting from the first year of ISCED Level 1.2 Level 1 corresponds to primary education or the first stage of basic education, with the first year of Level 1 marking “systematic apprenticeship of reading, writing, and mathematics.” However, IEA has a policy that children should be at least 9 years old before being asked to participate in a paper-and-pencil assessment such as TIMSS. Thus, as a policy, TIMSS also tries to ensure that, at the time of testing, students do not fall under the minimum average age of 9.5 years old. So, England, Malta, and New Zealand, where students start school at a young age, were assessed in their fifth year of schooling, but still have among the youngest students and are reported together with the fourth grade countries. Exhibit C.1 in Appendix C shows the grades and average ages of the students tested across countries, together with information about the policies and practices related to age of entry to primary school across countries. The TIMSS 2011 Encyclopedia contains further details, such as countries’ policies about promotion and retention.

The second page of Exhibit 1.1 shows the results for three countries that assessed their sixth grade students. To meet the needs of the increasing number of developing countries wanting to participate in TIMSS 2011, the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center encouraged countries where the assessment was too difficult for fourth grade students to give the TIMSS fourth grade assessment at the sixth grade. The three countries that elected to assess sixth grade students were Botswana, Honduras, and Yemen (which also assessed its fourth grade students).

The second page of Exhibit 1.1 also presents the results for the TIMSS 2011 fourth grade benchmarking participants. The benchmarking participants followed the same procedures and met the same standards as the countries, the difference being that they are regional entities of countries. Benchmarking participants at the fourth grade included Florida and North Carolina (US states), Alberta, Ontario, and Québec (Canadian provinces), and Dubai and Abu Dhabi (emirates of the United Arab Emirates).

Following the same approach as Exhibit 1.1, the first page of Exhibit 1.2 presents the results for the 42 countries that assessed students at the TIMSS

2 ISCEDstandsfortheInternationalStandardClassificationofEducationdevelopedbytheUNESCOInstituteforStatistics(OECD,1999).


target population of the eighth grade, the grade that represents eight years of schooling. For the TIMSS eighth grade assessment, IEA has a policy that students should be at least 13 years old before being asked to participate. Thus, TIMSS tries to ensure that, at the time of testing, students do not fall under the minimum average age of 13.5 years old. So, England and New Zealand, where students start school at a young age, are reported together with the eighth grade countries. Exhibit C.1 in Appendix C shows the grades and average ages of students at the time of testing across countries, together with policies related to age of entry into school.

As with the fourth grade, the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center encouraged countries where the TIMSS eighth grade assessment was too difficult for eighth grade students to instead assess students at a higher grade. The second page of Exhibit 1.2 shows the results for three countries that assessed their ninth grade students—Botswana, Honduras, and South Africa.

The second page of Exhibit 1.2 also presents the results for the TIMSS 2011 eighth grade benchmarking participants. Benchmarking participants at the eighth grade included nine US states (Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Carolina), three Canadian provinces (Alberta, Ontario, and Québec), and two emirates (Dubai and Abu Dhabi).

For each section of Exhibit 1.1 and in Exhibit 1.2, participants are shown in decreasing order of average achievement. Also, there is a symbol by a participant’s average scale score indicating if the average achievement is significantly higher (up arrow) or lower (down arrow) than the scale centerpoint of 500. TIMSS uses the centerpoint of the scale as a point of reference that remains constant from assessment to assessment. (In contrast, the international average, obtained by averaging across the mean scores for each of the participating countries, changes from assessment to assessment as the number and characteristics of the participating countries change.) Finally, several countries have annotations about 1) population coverage (detailed in Exhibit C.2); 2) sampling participation rates (explained in Exhibit C.8); and 3) the potential for bias in their achievement estimates (explained in the section after next).

Achievement in TIMSS 2011 at the Fourth GradeThe results in Exhibit 1.1 (first page) show that many countries performed well in TIMSS 2011 at the fourth grade, with 27 countries having higher achievement


than the scale centerpoint of 500 and several countries having average achievement above the High International Benchmark of 550. Because there are often relatively small differences between participants in average achievement, Exhibit 1.3 shows whether or not the differences in average achievement among the countries are statistically significant.

Korea and Singapore were the top-performing countries in TIMSS 2011 at the fourth grade. Looking at the results in Exhibit 1.1 and taking into account the information in Exhibit 1.3, it can be seen that these two countries performed similarly and had higher achievement than all of the other countries. The next highest-performing country was Finland, which had higher achievement than all countries except the two with the highest achievement, followed by Japan, the Russian Federation, and Chinese Taipei. The United States was the next highest performing country, with achievement higher than all countries except the six top performers. Also included in the top 14 high-achieving countries were the Czech Republic, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Sweden, the Slovak Republic, Austria, and the Netherlands. The benchmarking states of Florida and North Carolina and the province of Alberta had performance similar to these countries.

While there were small differences from country to country, there was a substantial range in performance from the top-performing to the lower-performing countries. Eighteen countries had average achievement below the TIMSS centerpoint of 500. For the most part, these countries had average achievement above the Low (400) International Benchmark.

Very Low Performance on TIMSS 2011It is a well-known principle of educational measurement that the difficulty of the items used to assess student achievement should match the ability of the students taking the assessment. In the context of assessing science achievement, measurement is most efficient when there is a reasonable match between the science ability level of the student population being assessed and the difficulty of the assessment items. The greater the mismatch, the more difficult it becomes to achieve reliable measurement. In particular, when the assessment tasks are much too challenging for most students, to the extent that many students are responding at chance level, it is extremely difficult to achieve acceptable measurement quality.

Monitoring trends over time is particularly problematic for a country with a high degree of mismatch between assessment difficulty and student


Percentiles of Performance

95% Con dence Interval for Average (±2SE)

5th 25th 75th 95th

Exhibit 1.1: Distribution of Science Achievement

CountryAverage

Scale ScoreScience Achievement Distribution

Korea, Rep. of 587 (2.0) h

2 Singapore 583 (3.4) h

Finland 570 (2.6) h

Japan 559 (1.9) h

Russian Federation 552 (3.5) h

Chinese Taipei 552 (2.2) h

2 United States 544 (2.1) h

Czech Republic 536 (2.5) h

2 Hong Kong SAR 535 (3.8) h

Hungary 534 (3.7) h

Sweden 533 (2.7) h

Slovak Republic 532 (3.8) h

Austria 532 (2.8) h

† Netherlands 531 (2.2) h

England 529 (2.9) h

2 Denmark 528 (2.8) h

Germany 528 (2.9) h

Italy 524 (2.7) h

Portugal 522 (3.9) h

Slovenia 520 (2.7) h

† Northern Ireland 517 (2.6) h

Ireland 516 (3.4) h

2 Croatia 516 (2.1) h

Australia 516 (2.8) h

2 Serbia 516 (3.1) h

1 2 Lithuania 515 (2.4) h

Belgium (Flemish) 509 (2.0) h

Romania 505 (5.9)

Spain 505 (3.0)

Poland 505 (2.6)

TIMSS Scale Centerpoint 500 New Zealand 497 (2.3)

2 Kazakhstan 495 (5.1)

‡ Norway 494 (2.3) i

Chile 480 (2.4) i

Thailand 472 (5.6) i

Turkey 463 (4.5) i

1 Georgia 455 (3.8) i

Iran, Islamic Rep. of 453 (3.7) i

Bahrain 449 (3.5) i

Malta 446 (1.9) i

2 Azerbaijan 438 (5.6) i

Saudi Arabia 429 (5.4) i

United Arab Emirates 428 (2.5) i

Armenia 416 (3.8) i

2 Qatar 394 (4.3) i

Oman 377 (4.3) i

1 ψ Kuwait 347 (4.7) iψ Tunisia 346 (5.3) iЖ Morocco 264 (4.5) iЖ Yemen 209 (7.3) i

h Country average significantly higher than the centerpoint of the TIMSS 4th grade scale

i Country average significantly lower than the centerpoint of the TIMSS 4th grade scale

Ж Average achievement not reliably measured because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation exceeds 25%.ψ Reservations about reliability of average achievement because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation does not exceed 25% but exceeds 15%.See Appendix C.2 for target population coverage notes 1, 2, and 3. See Appendix C.8 for sampling guidelines and sampling participation notes †, ‡, and ¶.( ) Standard errors appear in parentheses. Because of rounding some results may appear inconsistent.


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5th 25th 75th 95th

Exhibit 1.1: Distribution of Science Achievement (Continued)

CountryAverage


Sixth Grade Participants

Honduras 432 (5.8) i

Botswana 367 (5.5) i

Yemen 345 (7.0) i

Benchmarking Participants

1 3 Florida, US 545 (3.7) h

2 Alberta, Canada 541 (2.4) h

1 2 North Carolina, US 538 (4.6) h

Ontario, Canada 528 (3.0) h

Quebec, Canada 516 (2.7) h

Dubai, UAE 461 (2.3) i

Abu Dhabi, UAE 411 (4.9) i



100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800


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5th 25th 75th 95th


CountryAverage


2 Singapore 590 (4.3) h

Chinese Taipei 564 (2.3) h

Korea, Rep. of 560 (2.0) h

Japan 558 (2.4) h

Finland 552 (2.5) h

Slovenia 543 (2.7) h

2 Russian Federation 542 (3.2) h

Hong Kong SAR 535 (3.4) h

‡ England 533 (4.9) h

2 United States 525 (2.6) h

Hungary 522 (3.1) h

Australia 519 (4.8) h

3 Israel 516 (4.0) h

1 Lithuania 514 (2.6) h

New Zealand 512 (4.6) h

Sweden 509 (2.5) h

Italy 501 (2.5)

Ukraine 501 (3.4)

TIMSS Scale Centerpoint 500 Norway 494 (2.6) i

Kazakhstan 490 (4.3) i

Turkey 483 (3.4) i

Iran, Islamic Rep. of 474 (4.0) i

Romania 465 (3.5) i

United Arab Emirates 465 (2.4) i

Chile 461 (2.5) i

Bahrain 452 (2.0) i

Thailand 451 (3.9) i

Jordan 449 (4.0) i

Tunisia 439 (2.5) i

Armenia 437 (3.1) i

Saudi Arabia 436 (3.9) i

Malaysia 426 (6.3) i

Syrian Arab Republic 426 (3.9) i

Palestinian Nat’l Auth. 420 (3.2) i

1 Georgia 420 (3.0) i

Oman 420 (3.2) i

Qatar 419 (3.4) i

Macedonia, Rep. of 407 (5.4) i

Lebanon 406 (4.9) i

Indonesia 406 (4.5) i

Morocco 376 (2.2) iψ Ghana 306 (5.2) i



ψ Reservations about reliability of average achievement because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation does not exceed 25% but exceeds 15%.See Appendix C.3 for target population coverage notes 1, 2, and 3. See Appendix C.9 for sampling guidelines and sampling participation notes †, ‡, and ¶.( ) Standard errors appear in parentheses. Because of rounding some results may appear inconsistent.


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5th 25th 75th 95th

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

CountryAverage


Ninth Grade Participants

Botswana 404 (3.6) i

2 Honduras 369 (4.0) iψ South Africa 332 (3.7) i


1 2 Massachusetts, US 567 (5.1) h

1 Minnesota, US 553 (4.6) h

2 Alberta, Canada 546 (2.4) h

1 Colorado, US 542 (4.4) h

1 2 Indiana, US 533 (4.8) h

1 2 Connecticut, US 532 (4.6) h

1 3 North Carolina, US 532 (6.3) h

1 2 Florida, US 530 (7.3) h

2 Ontario, Canada 521 (2.5) h

Quebec, Canada 520 (2.5) h

1 2 California, US 499 (4.6)

1 Alabama, US 485 (6.2) i

Dubai, UAE 485 (2.5) i

Abu Dhabi, UAE 461 (4.0) i




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Exhibit 1.3: Multiple Comparisons of Average Science Achievement

Instructions: Read across the row for a country to compare performance with the countries listed along the top of the chart. The symbols indicate whether the average achievement of the country in the row is significantly lower than that of the comparison country, significantly higher than that of the comparison country, or if there is no statistically significant difference between the average achievement of the two countries.

Country

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Korea, Rep. of 587 (2.0) h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hSingapore 583 (3.4) h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Finland 570 (2.6) i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hJapan 559 (1.9) i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Russian Federation 552 (3.5) i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hChinese Taipei 552 (2.2) i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hUnited States 544 (2.1) i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Czech Republic 536 (2.5) i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hHong Kong SAR 535 (3.8) i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Hungary 534 (3.7) i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h hSweden 533 (2.7) i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Slovak Republic 532 (3.8) i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h hAustria 532 (2.8) i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h

Netherlands 531 (2.2) i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h hEngland 529 (2.9) i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h

Denmark 528 (2.8) i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h hGermany 528 (2.9) i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h

Italy 524 (2.7) i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h hPortugal 522 (3.9) i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h hSlovenia 520 (2.7) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h

Northern Ireland 517 (2.6) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h hIreland 516 (3.4) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h hCroatia 516 (2.1) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h

Australia 516 (2.8) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h hSerbia 516 (3.1) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h

Lithuania 515 (2.4) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h hBelgium (Flemish) 509 (2.0) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Romania 505 (5.9) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i Spain 505 (3.0) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Poland 505 (2.6) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i New Zealand 497 (2.3) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Kazakhstan 495 (5.1) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i Norway 494 (2.3) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Chile 480 (2.4) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iThailand 472 (5.6) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Turkey 463 (4.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iGeorgia 455 (3.8) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Iran, Islamic Rep. of 453 (3.7) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iBahrain 449 (3.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Malta 446 (1.9) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iAzerbaijan 438 (5.6) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Saudi Arabia 429 (5.4) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iUnited Arab Emirates 428 (2.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Armenia 416 (3.8) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iQatar 394 (4.3) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Oman 377 (4.3) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iKuwait 347 (4.7) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iTunisia 346 (5.3) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Morocco 264 (4.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iYemen 209 (7.3) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Honduras (6) 432 (5.8) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iBotswana (6) 367 (5.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Yemen (6) 345 (7.0) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

BenchmarkingParticipantsFlorida, US 545 (3.7) i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Alberta, Canada 541 (2.4) i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hNorth Carolina, US 538 (4.6) i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Ontario, Canada 528 (3.0) i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h hQuebec, Canada 516 (2.7) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h

Dubai, UAE 461 (2.3) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iAbu Dhabi, UAE 411 (4.9) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Significance tests were not adjusted for multiple comparisons. Five percent of the comparisons would be statistically significant by chance alone.( ) Standard errors appear in parentheses. Because of rounding some results may appear inconsistent.


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Exhibit 1.3: Multiple Comparisons of Average Science Achievement (Continued)

hAverage achievement significantly higher than comparison country i

Average achievement significantly lower than comparison country

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ore

Country

h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 587 (2.0) Korea, Rep. of h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 583 (3.4) Singapore h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 570 (2.6) Finland h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 559 (1.9) Japan h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 552 (3.5) Russian Federation h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 552 (2.2) Chinese Taipei h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 544 (2.1) United States h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 536 (2.5) Czech Republic h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 535 (3.8) Hong Kong SAR h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i h h h 534 (3.7) Hungary h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i h h h 533 (2.7) Sweden h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i h h h 532 (3.8) Slovak Republic h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i h h h 532 (2.8) Austria h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i h h h 531 (2.2) Netherlands h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i h h h 529 (2.9) England h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i h h h 528 (2.8) Denmark h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i h h h 528 (2.9) Germany h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i h h 524 (2.7) Italy h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i h h 522 (3.9) Portugal h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i h h 520 (2.7) Slovenia h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i h h 517 (2.6) Northern Ireland h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i h h 516 (3.4) Ireland h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i h h 516 (2.1) Croatia h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i h h 516 (2.8) Australia h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i h h 516 (3.1) Serbia h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i h h 515 (2.4) Lithuania h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h h 509 (2.0) Belgium (Flemish) h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i h h 505 (5.9) Romania h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h h 505 (3.0) Spain h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h h 505 (2.6) Poland h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h h 497 (2.3) New Zealand h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h h 495 (5.1) Kazakhstan h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h h 494 (2.3) Norway i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h h 480 (2.4) Chile i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h 472 (5.6) Thailand i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h 463 (4.5) Turkey i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h 455 (3.8) Georgia i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h 453 (3.7) Iran, Islamic Rep. of i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i h 449 (3.5) Bahrain i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i h 446 (1.9) Malta i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i h 438 (5.6) Azerbaijan i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i h 429 (5.4) Saudi Arabia i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i h 428 (2.5) United Arab Emirates i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h i h h i i i i i i 416 (3.8) Armenia i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h i h h i i i i i i i 394 (4.3) Qatar i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h i h i i i i i i i 377 (4.3) Oman i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h i i i i i i i i i 347 (4.7) Kuwait i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h i i i i i i i i i 346 (5.3) Tunisia i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h i i i i i i i i i i 264 (4.5) Morocco i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 209 (7.3) Yemen i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i h 432 (5.8) Honduras (6) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h i h i i i i i i i 367 (5.5) Botswana (6) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h i i i i i i i i i 345 (7.0) Yemen (6)

BenchmarkingParticipantsh h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 545 (3.7) Florida, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 541 (2.4) Alberta, Canada h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 538 (4.6) North Carolina, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i h h h 528 (3.0) Ontario, Canada h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i h h 516 (2.7) Quebec, Canada i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h 461 (2.3) Dubai, UAE i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h i h h i i i i i i 411 (4.9) Abu Dhabi, UAE



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Instructions: Read across the row for a country to compare performance with the countries listed along the top of the chart. The symbols indicate whether the average achievement of the country in the row is significantly lower than that of the comparison country, significantly higher than that of the comparison country, or if there is no statistically significant difference between the average achievement of the two countries.

Country

Aver

age

Scal

e Sc

ore

Sing

apor

e Ch

ines

e Ta

ipei

Ko

rea,

Rep

. of

Japa

n

Finl

and

Slov

enia

Russ

ian

Fede

ratio

n H

ong

Kong

SA

R En

glan

d

Uni

ted

Stat

es

Hun

gary

Aust

ralia

Is

rael

Li

thua

nia

New

Zea

land

Sw

eden

Italy

U

krai

ne

Nor

way

Kaza

khst

an

Turk

ey

Iran,

Isla

mic

Rep

. of

Rom

ania

U

nite

d A

rab

Emira

tes

Chile

Ba

hrai

n

Thai

land

Jo

rdan

Tu

nisi

a A

rmen

ia

Singapore 590 (4.3) h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hChinese Taipei 564 (2.3) i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hKorea, Rep. of 560 (2.0) i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Japan 558 (2.4) i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hFinland 552 (2.5) i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Slovenia 543 (2.7) i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hRussian Federation 542 (3.2) i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Hong Kong SAR 535 (3.4) i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hEngland 533 (4.9) i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

United States 525 (2.6) i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hHungary 522 (3.1) i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hAustralia 519 (4.8) i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Israel 516 (4.0) i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h hLithuania 514 (2.6) i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

New Zealand 512 (4.6) i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h hSweden 509 (2.5) i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Italy 501 (2.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h hUkraine 501 (3.4) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h hNorway 494 (2.6) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h

Kazakhstan 490 (4.3) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h hTurkey 483 (3.4) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h

Iran, Islamic Rep. of 474 (4.0) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h hRomania 465 (3.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h

United Arab Emirates 465 (2.4) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h hChile 461 (2.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h

Bahrain 452 (2.0) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h hThailand 451 (3.9) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h

Jordan 449 (4.0) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h hTunisia 439 (2.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Armenia 437 (3.1) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i Saudi Arabia 436 (3.9) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Malaysia 426 (6.3) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i Syrian Arab Republic 426 (3.9) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Palestinian Nat’l Auth. 420 (3.2) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iGeorgia 420 (3.0) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Oman 420 (3.2) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iQatar 419 (3.4) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Macedonia, Rep. of 407 (5.4) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iLebanon 406 (4.9) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Indonesia 406 (4.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iMorocco 376 (2.2) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

Ghana 306 (5.2) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iBotswana (9) 404 (3.6) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iHonduras (9) 369 (4.0) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

South Africa (9) 332 (3.7) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

BenchmarkingParticipantsMassachusetts, US 567 (5.1) i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Minnesota, US 553 (4.6) i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hAlberta, Canada 546 (2.4) i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Colorado, US 542 (4.4) i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hIndiana, US 533 (4.8) i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Connecticut, US 532 (4.6) i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hNorth Carolina, US 532 (6.3) i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Florida, US 530 (7.3) i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hOntario, Canada 521 (2.5) i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hQuebec, Canada 520 (2.5) i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

California, US 499 (4.6) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h h hAlabama, US 485 (6.2) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h

Dubai, UAE 485 (2.5) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h h h h h hAbu Dhabi, UAE 461 (4.0) i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i h h h h



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hAverage achievement significantly higher than comparison country i

Average achievement significantly lower than comparison country

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Country

h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 590 (4.3) Singapore h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 564 (2.3) Chinese Taipei h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 560 (2.0) Korea, Rep. of h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 558 (2.4) Japan h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i h h h h h h h h h h h h 552 (2.5) Finland h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i h h h h h h h 543 (2.7) Slovenia h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i h h h h h h 542 (3.2) Russian Federation h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i h h h h h h 535 (3.4) Hong Kong SAR h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i h h h h h h 533 (4.9) England h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i h h h h 525 (2.6) United States h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i h h h h 522 (3.1) Hungary h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i h h h h 519 (4.8) Australia h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i h h h h 516 (4.0) Israel h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i h h h h 514 (2.6) Lithuania h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i h h h h 512 (4.6) New Zealand h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i h h h h 509 (2.5) Sweden h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i h h h 501 (2.5) Italy h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i h h h 501 (3.4) Ukraine h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i h h 494 (2.6) Norway h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i h 490 (4.3) Kazakhstan h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i h 483 (3.4) Turkey h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i h 474 (4.0) Iran, Islamic Rep. of h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i 465 (3.5) Romania h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i 465 (2.4) United Arab Emirates h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i 461 (2.5) Chile h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 452 (2.0) Bahrain h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i 451 (3.9) Thailand h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 449 (4.0) Jordan h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 439 (2.5) Tunisia h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 437 (3.1) Armenia h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 436 (3.9) Saudi Arabia h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 426 (6.3) Malaysia h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 426 (3.9) Syrian Arab Republic i h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 420 (3.2) Palestinian Nat’l Auth. i h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 420 (3.0) Georgia i h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 420 (3.2) Oman i h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 419 (3.4) Qatar i i i i i i h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 407 (5.4) Macedonia, Rep. of i i i i i i i h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 406 (4.9) Lebanon i i i i i i i h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 406 (4.5) Indonesia i i i i i i i i i i h i h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 376 (2.2) Morocco i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 306 (5.2) Ghana i i i i i i i h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 404 (3.6) Botswana (9)i i i i i i i i i i h i h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 369 (4.0) Honduras (9)i i i i i i i i i i i h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 332 (3.7) South Africa (9)

BenchmarkingParticipantsh h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 567 (5.1) Massachusetts, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 553 (4.6) Minnesota, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i h h h h h h h h h h 546 (2.4) Alberta, Canada h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i h h h h h h 542 (4.4) Colorado, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i h h h h h h 533 (4.8) Indiana, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i h h h h h h 532 (4.6) Connecticut, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i h h h h 532 (6.3) North Carolina, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i h h h h 530 (7.3) Florida, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i h h h h 521 (2.5) Ontario, Canada h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i h h h h 520 (2.5) Quebec, Canada h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i h h 499 (4.6) California, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i h 485 (6.2) Alabama, US h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i h 485 (2.5) Dubai, UAE h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h i i i i i i i i i i i i i 461 (4.0) Abu Dhabi, UAE



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achievement. If there are substantial numbers of students with very low scores, their achievement is likely to be overestimated and consequently the overall achievement distribution becomes biased upwards. Educators and policy makers may work hard and make real strides in improving education from this assessment cycle to the next. However, because the achievement distribution at the earlier cycle was overestimated to begin with, the country would not see evidence of this improvement in the assessment results. The apparently poor return for all of the effort could be very disheartening to those who worked so hard and could prove a disincentive to further investment and effort.

Having substantial numbers of students with very low scores in a country also makes it difficult to estimate performance separately for the science content and cognitive domains. The items comprising the science reasoning scale were particularly difficult for such countries.

To identify countries where performance is deemed too low to provide reliable measurement of achievement and meaningful trend comparisons, the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center conducted extensive investigations to detect when the quality of measurement erodes (Martin, Mullis, & Foy, in press). The proportion of students unable to respond to any items on the assessment was selected as the best indicator of degree of mismatch between students’ skills and those demanded by the assessment. Although the absolute lower limit would be no items answered correctly, about half the items were in multiple-choice format and guessing on these was possible. Thus, beginning in 2011, the criterion for having achievement too low for estimation was established based on the percentage of the students having a score no higher than what a student would achieve by guessing on all the multiple-choice questions—essentially the percentage of students performing below chance.

For each country, Appendix D shows the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation (Exhibit D.1 for the fourth grade and D.2 for the eighth grade). When, as in Morocco and Yemen at the fourth grade, the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation exceeded 25 percent, the country was annotated with the symbol Ж. Achievement trends are not reported for these countries because of concerns about bias in the estimation of achievement for the student population. When, as in Kuwait and Tunisia, the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation exceeded 15 percent but did not exceed 25 percent, the country was annotated with the symbol Ψ, indicating reservations about the reliability of the achievement estimates.


Achievement in TIMSS 2011 at the Sixth GradeAs a group, the countries assessing their sixth grade students had average achievement between 345 and 432. This level of achievement is comparable to that of most of the lower performing countries at the fourth grade. Despite the low average achievement of the sixth grade students in Yemen, it is noteworthy that it exceeded the average achievement of Yemen’s fourth grade students by more than 130 points.

Achievement in TIMSS 2011 at the Eighth GradeThe results in Exhibit 1.2 (first page) show that 16 countries had higher achievement than the scale centerpoint of 500 and five countries had average achievement above the High International Benchmark of 550—Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Japan, and Finland.

Looking at the results in Exhibit 1.2 and taking into account the information in Exhibit 1.4, which shows whether or not the differences in average achievement among the countries are statistically significant, it can be seen that Singapore had the highest average achievement, and had higher achievement than all other countries. The next highest-performing countries—Chinese Taipei, Korea, and Japan—had higher achievement than all other countries except Singapore. Also included in the top nine high-achieving countries were Finland, Slovenia, the Russian Federation, Hong Kong SAR, and England.

Several benchmarking participants had average science achievement close to the High International Benchmark (550). The state of Massachusetts was outperformed only by the top-performing country of Singapore, and the state of Minnesota was outperformed only by Singapore and Chinese Taipei, although both had achievement similar to a number of other countries.

While there were small differences from country to country, there was a substantial range in performance from the top-performing to the lower-performing countries. Twenty-four countries had average achievement below the scale centerpoint, mostly falling above the Low (400) International Benchmark. Among the eighth grade participating countries, only Ghana had many low performing students, with a percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation between 15 and 25 percent.


Achievement in TIMSS 2011 at the Ninth GradeAs a group, the countries assessing their ninth grade students had average achievement between 332 and 404, at or below the Low International Benchmark (400) for eighth grade students. There was evidence of many very low performing ninth grade students in South Africa, with the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation between 15 percent and 25 percent.

TrendsinScienceAchievement

Exhibits 1.5 and 1.6 display changes in average science achievement at the fourth and eighth grades, respectively, for the countries and benchmarking participants that have comparable data from previous TIMSS assessments. For the fourth grade, there are 29 countries and four benchmarking participants having data from 1995, 2003, or 2007 that can be compared to 2011.3 Twelve countries and two benchmarking participants have trend data from all four TIMSS fourth grade assessments. For the eighth grade (and Finland at the seventh grade), there are 35 countries and nine benchmarking participants having data from 1995, 1999, 2003, or 2007 that can be compared to 2011, including eleven countries and two benchmarking participants that have data from all five TIMSS eighth grade assessments. With the participants shown in alphabetical order, Exhibits 1.5 and 1.6 show average achievement for each assessment year, as well as achievement differences between years, with an indication of statistical significance. The science achievement distributions also are shown for each assessment year.

At the fourth grade, there are 17 countries and three benchmarking participants that have comparable data from 1995 and 2011 providing trends over the past 16 years. Exhibit 1.7 shows these countries ordered from most to least growth in achievement over this period, to focus on educational progress across the TIMSS assessment years and complement the complete detail in Exhibit 1.5. Exhibit 1.7 presents for the fourth grade a country-by-country graphical depiction of change in average science achievement from 1995 to 2011, with growth curves aligned country by country to facilitate comparisons of change from assessment to assessment. That is, the same scale is used for each country (10-point intervals), but the part of the scale shown differs according to each countries’ average achievement. To complement Exhibit 1.6 and focus on long-term educational progress at the eighth grade, Exhibit 1.8 presents for the eighth grade a similar depiction of change in average achievement from 1995

3 TIMSS 1999didnotincludeafourthgradeassessment.


(or 1999) to 2011 for the 25 countries and eight benchmarking participants that have comparable data from these assessment years.

It is particularly interesting to consider the TIMSS 2011 achievement results in light of the information countries provided in the TIMSS 2011 Encyclopedia. Many countries are engaged in implementing important structural, curricular, and instructional reforms and are using the TIMSS results across the assessment years to monitor the impact on achievement of these reforms. Looking at the trends in fourth grade science achievement during the 1995–2011 period, there have been more countries with increases than with decreases. Of the 17 countries and three benchmarking participants with data spanning this period (see Exhibit 1.7), eight countries and one benchmarking participant had increases in average achievement, one country and one benchmarking participant had decreases, and eight countries and one benchmarking participants had no difference. Among the countries with the greatest increase from 1995 to 2011 were Iran, Portugal, Singapore, and Slovenia, with average achievement increases of 56 points or more. Hong Kong SAR and Hungary also both had substantial increases. Among benchmarking participants, Ontario’s average achievement increased, while the average achievement decreased in Québec.


Exhibit 1.5: Trends in Science Achievement

Instructions: Read across the row to determine if the performance in the row year is significantly higher (h) or significantly lower (i) than the performance in the column year.

CountryAverage

Scale ScoreDifferences Between Years

Science Achievement Distribution2007 2003 1995

Armenia2011 416 (3.8) –20 i

2003 437 (4.3)

Australia2011 516 (2.8) –12 i –5 –6

2007 527 (3.3) 7 6

† 2003 521 (4.2) –1

¶ 1995 521 (3.8)

Austria2011 532 (2.8) 6 –6

2007 526 (2.5) –12 i

¶ 1995 538 (3.6)

Belgium (Flemish)2011 509 (2.0) –10 i

2 2003 518 (1.8)

Chinese Taipei2011 552 (2.2) –5 0

2007 557 (2.0) 5 h

2003 551 (1.7)

Czech Republic2011 536 (2.5) 21 h 5

2007 515 (3.1) –17 i

1995 532 (3.0)

Denmark2 2011 528 (2.8) 11 h

† 2007 517 (2.9)

England2011 529 (2.9) –13 i –11 i 1

2007 542 (2.9) 1 14 h

† 2003 540 (3.6) 13 h

3 † 1995 528 (3.1)

Georgia1 2011 455 (3.8) 37 h

1 2007 418 (4.6)

Germany2011 528 (2.9) 0

2007 528 (2.4)

Hong Kong SAR2 2011 535 (3.8) –19 i –8 27 h

2007 554 (3.5) 12 h 46 h

† 2003 542 (3.1) 35 h

1995 508 (3.3)

Hungary2011 534 (3.7) –2 5 27 h

2007 536 (3.3) 6 28 h

2 2003 530 (3.0) 22 h

1995 508 (3.4)

Iran, Islamic Rep. of2011 453 (3.7) 17 h 39 h 73 h

2007 436 (4.3) 22 h 55 h

2 2003 414 (4.1) 34 h

1995 380 (4.6)

h More recent year significantly higher

i More recent year significantly lower

Ψ Reservations about reliability of average achievement because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation does not exceed 25% but exceeds 15%. Such annotations in exhibits with trend data began in 2011, so data from assessments prior to 2011 are not annotated for reservations.

See Appendix C.2 for target population coverage notes 1, 2, and 3. See Appendix C.8 for sampling guidelines and sampling participation notes †, ‡, and ¶.

¿ Tested the same cohort of students as other countries, but later in the assessment year at the beginning of the next school year.( ) Standard errors appear in parentheses. Because of rounding some results may appear inconsistent.


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5th 25th 75th 95th




5th 25th 75th 95th

Exhibit 1.5: Trends in Science Achievement (Continued)


CountryAverage



Ireland2011 516 (3.4) 1

2 1995 515 (3.5)

Italy2011 524 (2.7) –11 i 8

2007 535 (3.2) 20 h

2003 516 (3.8)

Japan2011 559 (1.9) 11 h 15 h 5 h

2007 548 (2.1) 4 –5 i

2003 543 (1.5) –10 i

1995 553 (1.8)

Korea, Rep. of2011 587 (2.0) 11 h

2 1995 576 (2.1)

Lithuania1 2 2011 515 (2.4) 0 3

1 2007 514 (2.4) 2

1 2003 512 (2.6)

Netherlands† 2011 531 (2.2) 8 h 6 h 1

‡ 2007 523 (2.6) –2 –7

† 2003 525 (2.0) –5

¶ 1995 530 (3.2)

New Zealand2011 497 (2.3) –7 i –23 i –8

2007 504 (2.6) –16 i –1

2003 520 (2.5) 15 h

1995 505 (5.3)

Norway‡ 2011 494 (2.3) 17 h 28 h –10 i

2007 477 (3.5) 10 h –27 i

2003 466 (2.6) –38 i

1995 504 (3.7)

Portugal2011 522 (3.9) 70 h

2 1995 452 (4.1)

Russian Federation2011 552 (3.5) 6 26 h

2007 546 (4.8) 20 h

2 2003 526 (5.2)

Singapore2 2011 583 (3.4) –3 18 h 60 h

2007 587 (4.1) 22 h 63 h

2003 565 (5.5) 42 h

1995 523 (4.8)

Slovak Republic2011 532 (3.8) 6

2007 526 (4.8)




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CountryAverage



Slovenia2011 520 (2.7) 2 30 h 56 h

2007 518 (1.9) 28 h 54 h

2003 490 (2.5) 26 h

1995 464 (3.1)

Sweden2011 533 (2.7) 9 h

2007 525 (2.9)

TunisiaΨ 2011 346 (5.3) 27 h 32 h

2007 318 (5.9) 4

2003 314 (5.7)

United States2 2011 544 (2.1) 5 8 h 2

2 † 2007 539 (2.7) 3 –3

† 2003 536 (2.5) –6

1995 542 (3.3)

BenchmarkingParticipants

Alberta, Canada2 2011 541 (2.4) –1 –14

2 2007 543 (3.8) –13

1995 555 (8.4)

Ontario, Canada2011 528 (3.0) –8 –13 i 11 h

2 2007 536 (3.7) –4 20 h

2003 540 (3.7) 24 h

2 1995 516 (3.7)

Quebec, Canada2011 516 (2.7) –1 16 h –12 i

2 2007 517 (2.7) 17 h –11 i

2003 500 (2.5) –28 i

1995 529 (4.8)

Dubai, UAE2011 461 (2.3) 2

¿ ‡ 2007 460 (2.8)




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At the eighth grade, there was great variability among countries in changes in average science achievement between 1995 or 1999 and 2011, with some countries showing large improvements and others showing large declines. Of the 16 countries and four benchmarking participants with comparable data spanning the 1995 to 2011 period, seven countries and one benchmarking participant showed increases in average achievement, three countries and no benchmarking participants showed decreases, and six countries and three benchmarking participants showed no difference. The countries with the greatest increases in average science achievement between 1995 and 2011 at the eighth grade were Lithuania (50 points), Slovenia (29 points), Hong Kong SAR (25 points), and the Russian Federation (20 points); Ontario also had a similarly large increase during this period (25 points). Countries with the greatest decreases in average achievement between 1995 and 2011 were Sweden (43 points) and Norway (20 points).

For the nine countries and four benchmarking participants that did not participate in TIMSS 1995, but did participate in TIMSS 1999, two countries and two benchmarking participants showed an increase in average achievement from 1999 to 2011: Chile (41 points) and Tunisia (9 points), as well as the states of Massachusetts and North Carolina (34 and 24 points, respectively). Three countries showed a decrease in average achievement over this period, among which Macedonia and Malaysia showed the largest decreases (51 and 66 points, respectively). Four countries and two benchmarking participants showed no difference.




5th 25th 75th 95th



CountryAverage


Science Achievement Distribution2007 2003 1999 1995

Armenia2011 437 (3.1) –24 i

2003 461 (3.5)

Australia2011 519 (4.8) 4 –8 6

2007 515 (3.6) –12 i 1

2003 527 (3.8) 13 h

‡ 1995 514 (3.9)

Bahrain¿ 2011 452 (2.0) –15 i 14 h

2007 467 (1.7) 29 h

2003 438 (1.8)

Chile2011 461 (2.5) 49 h 41 h

2003 413 (2.9) –8

1999 420 (3.7)

Chinese Taipei2011 564 (2.3) 3 –7 –5

2007 561 (3.7) –10 i –8

2003 571 (3.5) 2

1999 569 (4.4)

England‡ 2011 533 (4.9) –9 –11 –5 0

† 2007 542 (4.5) –2 3 8

¶ 2003 544 (4.1) 5 11

† 1999 538 (4.8) 5

3 † 1995 533 (3.6)

Finland (7)2011 529 (3.2) –6

1999 535 (3.5)

Georgia1 2011 420 (3.0) –1

1 2007 421 (4.8)

Ghanaψ 2011 306 (5.2) 3 51 h

2007 303 (5.4) 48 h

2003 255 (5.9)

Hong Kong SAR2011 535 (3.4) 5 –21 i 6 25 h

† 2007 530 (4.9) –26 i 1 20 h

† 2003 556 (3.0) 27 h 46 h

† 1999 530 (3.7) 20 h

1995 510 (5.8)

Hungary2011 522 (3.1) –17 i –20 i –30 i –14 i

2007 539 (2.9) –4 –13 i 2

2 2003 543 (2.8) –10 i 6

1999 552 (3.7) 16 h

1995 537 (3.1) h More recent year significantly higher


ψ Reservations about reliability of average achievement because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation does not exceed 25% but exceeds 15%. Such annotations in exhibits with trend data began in 2011, so data from assessments prior to 2011 are not annotated for reservations.

Trend Notes: Trend results for Finland are based on 7th grade data from 1999 and 2011, and so Finland’s 2011 results differ from Exhibit 1.1.See Appendix C.3 for target population coverage notes 1, 2, and 3. See Appendix C.9 for sampling guidelines and sampling participation notes †, ‡, and ¶.

¿ Tested the same cohort of students as other countries, but later in the assessment year at the beginning of the next school year.( ) Standard errors appear in parentheses. Because of rounding some results may appear inconsistent.


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CountryAverage



Indonesia2011 406 (4.5) –21 i

1 2007 427 (3.4)

Iran, Islamic Rep. of2011 474 (4.0) 15 h 21 h 26 h 12 h

2007 459 (3.6) 6 11 h –4

2 2003 453 (2.3) 5 –9 i

1999 448 (3.8) –15 i

1995 463 (3.6)

Italy2011 501 (2.5) 6 10 h 8

2007 495 (2.8) 4 2

2003 491 (3.1) –2

2 1999 493 (3.9)

Japan2011 558 (2.4) 4 6 8 h 3

2007 554 (1.9) 2 4 –1

2003 552 (1.7) 3 –2

1999 550 (2.2) –5

1995 554 (1.8)

Jordan2011 449 (4.0) –33 i –26 i –1

2007 482 (4.0) 7 31 h

2003 475 (3.8) 25 h

1999 450 (3.8)

Korea, Rep. of2011 560 (2.0) 7 h 2 12 h 14 h

2007 553 (2.0) –5 i 4 7 h

¿ 2003 558 (1.6) 10 h 13 h

1999 549 (2.6) 3

1995 546 (2.0)

Lebanon2011 406 (4.9) –8 13

2007 414 (5.9) 20 h

2003 393 (4.3)

Lithuania1 2011 514 (2.6) –5 –6 26 h 50 h

1 2007 519 (2.5) –1 30 h 55 h

1 2003 519 (2.1) 31 h 56 h

1 ¿ 1999 488 (4.1) 25 h

1 2 1995 464 (4.0)

Macedonia, Rep. of2011 407 (5.4) –42 i –51 i

3 2003 449 (3.6) –9

1999 458 (5.2)

Malaysia2011 426 (6.3) –44 i –84 i –66 i

2007 471 (6.0) –40 i –22 i

2003 510 (3.7) 18 h

1999 492 (4.4)

New Zealand2011 512 (4.6) –8 2 1

2003 520 (5.0) 10 9

1999 510 (4.9) –1

1995 511 (4.9)




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CountryAverage



Norway2011 494 (2.6) 8 h 1 –20 i

2007 487 (2.2) –7 i –28 i

2003 494 (2.2) –21 i

1995 514 (2.4)

Oman2011 420 (3.2) –3

2007 423 (3.0)

Palestinian Nat’l Auth.2011 420 (3.2) 16 h –15 i

2007 404 (3.5) –31 i

2003 435 (3.2)

Romania2011 465 (3.5) 3 –5 –7 –6

2007 462 (3.9) –8 –10 –9

2003 470 (4.9) –2 –1

1999 472 (5.8) 1

1995 471 (5.1)

Russian Federation2 2011 542 (3.2) 13 h 29 h 13 20 h

2007 530 (3.9) 16 h 0 7

2003 514 (3.7) –16 i –9

1999 529 (6.4) 7

2 1995 523 (4.5)

Singapore2 2011 590 (4.3) 23 h 12 h 22 h 10

2007 567 (4.4) –11 –1 –13

2003 578 (4.3) 10 –3

1999 568 (8.0) –12

1995 580 (5.5)

Slovenia2011 543 (2.7) 5 22 h 29 h

2007 538 (2.2) 17 h 24 h

2003 520 (1.8) 7 h

1995 514 (2.7)

Sweden2011 509 (2.5) –1 –15 i –43 i

2007 511 (2.6) –14 i –42 i

2003 524 (2.7) –28 i

1995 553 (4.4)

Syrian Arab Republic2011 426 (3.9) –26 i

2007 452 (2.9)

Thailand2011 451 (3.9) –20 i –31 i

2007 471 (4.3) –12 i

1999 482 (4.0)

Tunisia2011 439 (2.5) –6 35 h 9 h

2007 445 (2.1) 41 h 15 h

2003 404 (2.1) –26 i

1999 430 (3.4)




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CountryAverage



Ukraine2011 501 (3.4) 16 h

2007 485 (3.5)

United States2 2011 525 (2.6) 5 –3 10 12 h

2 † 2007 520 (2.9) –7 5 7

‡ 2003 527 (3.1) 12 h 15 h

1999 515 (4.6) 2

† 1995 513 (5.6)

BenchmarkingParticipants

Alberta, Canada2 2011 546 (2.4) –13 –4

1999 559 (7.5) 9

1995 550 (4.8)

Ontario, Canada2 2011 521 (2.5) –5 –12 i 3 25 h

2 2007 526 (3.6) –7 8 30 h

2 2003 533 (2.7) 15 h 37 h

1999 518 (3.1) 22 h

1995 496 (3.7)

Quebec, Canada2011 520 (2.5) 13 h –11 i –21 i 10

3 2007 507 (3.1) –24 i –34 i –3

2003 531 (3.0) –9 21 h

1999 540 (4.8) 30 h

1995 510 (6.9)

Dubai, UAE2011 485 (2.5) –4

¿ ‡ 2007 489 (2.8)

Connecticut, US1 2011 532 (4.6) 2

1999 529 (10.4)

Indiana, US1 2 2011 533 (4.8) 2 –1

2 2003 531 (4.8) –4

2 † 1999 534 (7.0)

Massachusetts, US1 2 2011 567 (5.1) 11 34 h

2 2007 556 (4.6) 23 h

1999 533 (7.4)

Minnesota, US1 2011 553 (4.6) 15 h 10

2 † 2007 539 (4.8) –5

† 1995 544 (7.9)

North Carolina, US1 3 2011 532 (6.3) 24 h

1999 508 (6.5)




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100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800


540

620

500

580

380

460

450

530

510

590

480

560

450

530

490

570

490

570

500

580

520

600

480

560518 520

380

464

490

587576

539544542

536

436

453

414

554

535

508

542

548559

553543

516515

522

452

536 534

508

530

515

536532

542529528

540

587583

523

565

Exhibit 1.7: Trends in Science Achievement – 1995 Through 2011*

Includes only 2011 participants with comparable long term trend data beginning in 1995, ordered by most to least improvement in average achievement. Exhibit 1.5 provides details including statistical significance.

Iran, Islamic Rep. of Portugal Singapore

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Slovenia Hong Kong SAR Hungary

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Korea, Rep. of Japan Czech Republic

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

United States Ireland England

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

* No fourth-grade assessment in 1999.Scale interval is 10 points for each country, but the part of the scale shown differs according to each country’s average achievement.

Exhibit 1.7: Trends in Science Achievement – 1995 Through 2011*

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490

570

490

570

470

550

470

550

480

560

450

530

510

590

490

570

504497

505

520

536528

516

540

523531530

525

477

494504

466

517 516

529

500

527516521 521

543 541

555

526532

538

Exhibit 1.7: Trends in Science Achievement – 1995 Through 2011* (Continued)

Netherlands Australia Austria

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

New Zealand Norway

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


Ontario, Canada Quebec, Canada Alberta, Canada

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Exhibit 1.7: Trends in Science Achievement – 1995 Through 2011* (Continued)

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480

560

380

460

450

530

490

570

420

500

460

540

400

480

490

570

540

620

480

560

490

570

510

590

530 535

510

556

530

520525

513

527515

445439

404

430

519 514

464

519

488

530542

523514

529

459

474463

453448

495501

491493

461

413420

553560

546

558549

567

590580 578

568

515 519514

527

538 543

514520

Exhibit 1.8: Trends in Science Achievement – 1995 Through 2011

Includes only 2011 participants with comparable long term trend data beginning in either 1995 or 1999, ordered by most to least improvement in average achievement. Exhibit 1.6 provides details including statistical significance.

Lithuania Chile Slovenia

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Hong Kong SAR Russian Federation Korea, Rep. of

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

United States Iran, Islamic Rep. of Singapore

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Tunisia Italy Australia

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Scale interval is 10 points for each country, but the part of the scale shown differs according to each country’s average achievement.

Exhibit 1.8: Trends in Science Achievement – 1995 Through 2011

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430

510

430

510

510

590

430

510

500

580

490

570

480

560

530

610

460

540

390

470

500

580

490

570

450

482

449

475

472462 465

471 470

482471

451

550 554 558554 552

569561 564

571

552

539

522

537543

511 509

553

524

510 512511520

535529

487494

514

494

458

407

449

538 542533533

544

Exhibit 1.8: Trends in Science Achievement – 1995 Through 2011 (Continued)

Japan New Zealand England

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Jordan Chinese Taipei Finland (7)

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Romania Hungary Norway

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Thailand Sweden Macedonia, Rep. of

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


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430

510

510

590

510

590

510

590

470

550

490

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480

560

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567

533

507

520510

531540

533531534

471

426

510

492

526521

496

533

518

539

553544

546550

559

532

508

532529


Malaysia

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


Massachusetts, US Ontario, Canada North Carolina, US

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Quebec, Canada Minnesota, US Connecticut, US

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Indiana, US Alberta, Canada

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


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Trends Across Grades: Fourth to Eighth Grade Cohort Analysis Because TIMSS is conducted on a four-year cycle, the cohort of students that was assessed in the fourth grade in 2007 had reached the eighth grade by 2011, and thus was assessed at the eighth grade in 2011. This enables the 17 countries and three benchmarking participants that assessed both grades in both assessment years to examine how their performance relative to each other changed as the fourth grade students of 2007 became the eighth grade students of 2011. The results are presented in Exhibit 1.9, which shows average science achievement as a difference from the TIMSS scale centerpoint (500) for the fourth grade students in 2007 (upper-left panel) and in 2011 (upper-right panel). The exhibit also shows achievement for the eighth grade students in 2007 (lower-left panel) and in 2011 (lower-right panel). The trends for the fourth and eighth grades (indicated by the gray horizontal arrows), however, were presented more fully in Exhibits 1.5 and 1.6, respectively. The purpose of Exhibit 1.9 is to provide information about relative progress across grades as the cohort of students assessed at the fourth grade in 2007 moved to the eighth grade four years later in 2011. That is, to compare relative performance at the fourth grade in 2007 (upper-left panel) to relative performance at the eighth grade in 2011 (lower-right panel) as indicated by the darker arrow pointing diagonally downward.

Twelve countries—Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, the Russian Federation, England, the United States, Hungary, Australia, Sweden, Slovenia, and Lithuania—and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec performed above the scale centerpoint at the fourth grade in 2007 and again at the eighth grade in 2011 (although not in the same order of average achievement). Slovenia showed a particularly notable increase, with average achievement moving from 18 points above the centerpoint at the fourth grade in 2001 to 43 points above the centerpoint at the eighth grade in 2011. Norway, Iran, Georgia, Tunisia, and the UAE emirate of Dubai performed below the scale centerpoint in the fourth grade in 2007 and again at the eighth grade in 2011. Italy moved from above the centerpoint in the fourth grade in 2007 to the centerpoint at the eighth grade in 2011.

GenderDifferencesinScienceAchievement

Previous TIMSS assessments have shown gender differences in science achievement to be smaller on average at the fourth grade than at the eighth grade, although the situation varies considerably from country to country.


Exhibit 1.9: Relative Achievement of 2007 Fourth Grade Cohort as Eighth Grade Students in 2011

2007 – Fourth Grade 2011 – Fourth Grade

CountryAchievement Difference from TIMSS Scale Centerpoint (500)

CountryAchievement Difference from TIMSS Scale Centerpoint (500)

Singapore 87 (4.1) h Singapore 83 (3.4) h

Chinese Taipei 57 (2.0) h Japan 59 (1.9) h

Hong Kong SAR 54 (3.5) h Russian Federation 52 (3.5) h

Japan 48 (2.1) h Chinese Taipei 52 (2.2) h

Russian Federation 46 (4.8) h United States 44 (2.1) h

England 42 (2.9) h Hong Kong SAR 35 (3.8) h

United States 39 (2.7) h Hungary 34 (3.7) h

Hungary 36 (3.3) h Sweden 33 (2.7) h

Italy 35 (3.2) h England 29 (2.9) h

Australia 27 (3.3) h Italy 24 (2.7) h

Sweden 25 (2.9) h Slovenia 20 (2.7) h

Slovenia 18 (1.9) h Australia 16 (2.8) h

Lithuania 14 (2.4) h Lithuania 15 (2.4) h

Norway –23 (3.5) i Norway –6 (2.3) i

Iran, Islamic Rep. of –64 (4.3) i Georgia –45 (3.8) i

Georgia –82 (4.6) i Iran, Islamic Rep. of –47 (3.7) i

Tunisia –182 (5.9) i Tunisia –154 (5.3) i

Benchmarking Participants Benchmarking ParticipantsOntario, Canada 36 (3.7) h Ontario, Canada 28 (3.0) h

Quebec, Canada 17 (2.7) h Quebec, Canada 16 (2.7) h

Dubai, UAE –40 (2.8) i Dubai, UAE –39 (2.3) i

2007 – Eighth Grade 2011 – Eighth Grade

Country Achievement Difference from TIMSS Scale Centerpoint (500)

Country Achievement Difference from TIMSS Scale Centerpoint (500)

Singapore 67 (4.4) h Singapore 90 (4.3) h

Chinese Taipei 61 (3.7) h Chinese Taipei 64 (2.3) h

Japan 54 (1.9) h Japan 58 (2.4) h

England 42 (4.5) h Slovenia 43 (2.7) h

Hungary 39 (2.9) h Russian Federation 42 (3.2) h

Slovenia 38 (2.2) h Hong Kong SAR 35 (3.4) h

Hong Kong SAR 30 (4.9) h England 33 (4.9) h

Russian Federation 30 (3.9) h United States 25 (2.6) h

United States 20 (2.9) h Hungary 22 (3.1) h

Lithuania 19 (2.5) h Australia 19 (4.8) h

Australia 15 (3.6) h Lithuania 14 (2.6) h

Sweden 11 (2.6) h Sweden 9 (2.5) h

Italy –5 (2.8) Italy 1 (2.5)

Norway –13 (2.2) i Norway –6 (2.6) i

Iran, Islamic Rep. of –41 (3.6) i Iran, Islamic Rep. of –26 (4.0) i

Tunisia –55 (2.1) i Tunisia –61 (2.5) i

Georgia –79 (4.8) i Georgia –80 (3.0) i

Benchmarking Participants Benchmarking ParticipantsOntario, Canada 26 (3.6) h Ontario, Canada 21 (2.5) h

Quebec, Canada 7 (3.1) h Quebec, Canada 20 (2.5) h

Dubai, UAE –11 (2.8) i Dubai, UAE –15 (2.5) i

h Country average significantly higher than the centerpoint of the TIMSS scale

i Country average significantly lower than the centerpoint of the TIMSS scale

( ) Standard errors appear in parentheses. Because of rounding some results may appear inconsistent.

Exhibit 1.9: Relative Achievement of 2007 Fourth Grade Cohort as Eighth Grade Students in 2011

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Exhibit 1.10 presents the TIMSS 2011 fourth grade results for gender differences in science achievement. For the TIMSS 2011 countries at the fourth grade, at sixth grade, and the benchmarking participants, it presents girls’ average achievement, boys’ average achievement, and the difference between the two averages. The bar graph shows the size of the achievement difference between boys and girls and whether that difference is statistically significant (as indicated by a darkened bar). International averages also are shown (averages across the mean scores for girls in each of the countries and the mean scores for boys in each of the countries). Exhibit 1.11 presents corresponding results for the TIMSS 2011 eighth grade assessment.

In each section of Exhibit 1.10, participants are shown in order by the increasing size of the difference between girls and boys in average science achievement. Overall, there was little achievement difference between girls and boys (International Average: 487 vs. 485). Of the 50 countries at the fourth grade, 23 had no significant gender difference in science achievement. Of the 27 remaining countries, 16 had relatively small differences favoring boys, and three had relatively small differences favoring girls. Eight countries had relatively larger differences favoring girls (the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Tunisia, Qatar, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait).

At the sixth grade, there was a significant achievement difference favoring girls in Botswana. Among benchmarking participants, boys had higher average science achievement than girls in Québec, Alberta, Florida, and North Carolina. Girls had higher achievement than boys in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

As shown in Exhibit 1.11, gender differences in science achievement at the eighth grade were larger, on average, than at the fourth grade, with the difference favoring girls (International Average: 480 vs. 474). Similar to the fourth grade, the gender difference varied across countries, with no difference in 17 of the 42 eighth grade countries, a difference favoring boys in ten countries, and a difference favoring girls in the remaining 15 countries. As at the fourth grade, and consistent with findings from TIMSS 2007, the largest achievement differences favoring girls at the eighth grade were in Arabic-speaking countries from the Middle East (the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian National Authority, Jordan, Bahrain, and Oman). Among countries that assessed their ninth grade students, girls had higher science achievement than boys in Botswana and boys had higher achievement than girls in Honduras. Among the 14 benchmarking participants, boys performed better than girls in six US states and the Canadian province of Alberta and girls performed better than boys (by a large margin) in Dubai, UAE.


Exhibit 1.10: Average Science Achievement by Gender

CountryGirls Boys Difference

(Absolute Value)

Gender DifferencePercent of Students

Average Scale Score

Percent of Students

Average Scale Score

Girls Scored Higher

Boys Scored Higher

Australia 49 (1.0) 516 (3.1) 51 (1.0) 516 (3.7) 0 (3.9)Romania 48 (0.9) 505 (6.9) 52 (0.9) 506 (5.7) 0 (4.7)Finland 49 (0.8) 570 (2.9) 51 (0.8) 570 (3.0) 0 (3.0)Ireland 49 (2.3) 516 (4.0) 51 (2.3) 516 (4.6) 1 (5.5)New Zealand 49 (0.8) 496 (3.0) 51 (0.8) 497 (2.6) 1 (3.2)England 48 (1.0) 529 (3.3) 52 (1.0) 528 (3.3) 1 (3.1)

1 2 Lithuania 48 (0.8) 514 (2.4) 52 (0.8) 515 (3.0) 1 (2.6)Russian Federation 49 (1.0) 553 (3.5) 51 (1.0) 552 (3.8) 1 (2.4)

† Northern Ireland 49 (1.3) 517 (3.2) 51 (1.3) 516 (3.2) 1 (3.8)2 Denmark 51 (0.7) 527 (3.3) 49 (0.7) 529 (3.1) 2 (3.0)

Iran, Islamic Rep. of 49 (2.9) 452 (5.8) 51 (2.9) 454 (5.7) 2 (8.8)2 Serbia 48 (0.9) 514 (3.6) 52 (0.9) 517 (3.7) 3 (3.9)

Sweden 49 (1.0) 532 (3.0) 51 (1.0) 535 (3.2) 4 (3.0)‡ Norway 51 (1.1) 492 (2.5) 49 (1.1) 496 (3.2) 4 (3.1)2 Singapore 49 (0.6) 581 (3.7) 51 (0.6) 585 (3.7) 4 (2.7)

Turkey 48 (0.6) 465 (5.0) 52 (0.6) 461 (4.7) 4 (3.8)Hungary 49 (1.0) 532 (4.0) 51 (1.0) 537 (3.9) 5 (2.9)

2 Croatia 50 (0.8) 514 (2.5) 50 (0.8) 518 (2.5) 5 (2.7)Portugal 49 (1.1) 519 (4.6) 51 (1.1) 524 (3.8) 5 (3.2)Armenia 47 (0.8) 419 (4.0) 53 (0.8) 414 (4.3) 5 (3.4)Japan 49 (0.5) 556 (2.7) 51 (0.5) 561 (2.1) 5 (2.8)Slovenia 48 (0.8) 517 (2.8) 52 (0.8) 523 (3.4) 6 (3.2)

2 Hong Kong SAR 46 (1.2) 532 (3.6) 54 (1.2) 538 (4.3) 6 (2.5)Poland 48 (0.9) 502 (3.0) 52 (0.9) 508 (2.9) 6 (2.8)Malta 49 (0.5) 443 (2.2) 51 (0.5) 449 (2.8) 6 (3.3)Chinese Taipei 47 (0.6) 548 (2.6) 53 (0.6) 555 (2.4) 7 (2.3)Italy 50 (0.7) 520 (3.2) 50 (0.7) 528 (3.0) 7 (2.9)Korea, Rep. of 48 (0.4) 583 (2.4) 52 (0.4) 590 (2.3) 8 (2.3)

2 Kazakhstan 48 (0.8) 490 (5.1) 52 (0.8) 498 (5.5) 8 (3.0)2 Azerbaijan 47 (0.8) 442 (6.3) 53 (0.8) 434 (5.7) 8 (4.0)

Slovak Republic 49 (0.9) 528 (4.3) 51 (0.9) 536 (3.6) 8 (2.7)1 Georgia 48 (0.9) 459 (3.2) 52 (0.9) 451 (5.1) 9 (3.9)

Ж Morocco 48 (0.8) 268 (5.1) 52 (0.8) 259 (4.9) 9 (4.4)Spain 49 (0.8) 500 (2.8) 51 (0.8) 510 (3.7) 10 (2.8)Thailand 49 (0.9) 476 (5.7) 51 (0.9) 467 (6.6) 10 (5.0)

2 United States 51 (0.5) 539 (2.3) 49 (0.5) 549 (2.1) 10 (1.5)† Netherlands 52 (1.0) 526 (2.4) 48 (1.0) 537 (2.6) 10 (2.1)

Belgium (Flemish) 50 (0.9) 503 (2.6) 50 (0.9) 514 (2.3) 11 (2.9)Chile 51 (1.4) 474 (2.8) 49 (1.4) 486 (2.8) 12 (2.9)Germany 49 (0.8) 522 (3.0) 51 (0.8) 534 (3.2) 12 (2.5)Austria 49 (1.2) 525 (2.8) 51 (1.2) 538 (3.6) 12 (2.9)Czech Republic 48 (1.2) 529 (2.9) 52 (1.2) 544 (2.7) 15 (2.6)United Arab Emirates 50 (1.6) 437 (3.4) 50 (1.6) 419 (3.8) 18 (5.3)Bahrain 50 (1.6) 461 (5.5) 50 (1.6) 438 (4.6) 23 (7.0)

ψ Tunisia 47 (0.8) 359 (5.6) 53 (0.8) 334 (5.6) 25 (4.3)2 Qatar 47 (3.4) 408 (5.1) 53 (3.4) 382 (5.7) 26 (6.5)

Ж Yemen 40 (2.8) 225 (7.3) 60 (2.8) 198 (8.8) 27 (8.0)Oman 49 (0.7) 394 (4.7) 51 (0.7) 360 (4.6) 34 (3.8)Saudi Arabia 52 (1.5) 453 (4.7) 48 (1.5) 405 (9.9) 48 (11.0)

1 ψ Kuwait 54 (1.6) 371 (5.5) 46 (1.6) 319 (7.1) 53 (8.6)International Avg. 49 (0.2) 487 (0.6) 51 (0.2) 485 (0.6)

Difference statistically significant

Difference not statistically significant

Ж Average achievement not reliably measured because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation exceeds 25%.ψ Reservations about reliability of average achievement because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation does not exceed 25% but exceeds 15%.See Appendix C.2 for target population coverage notes 1, 2, and 3. See Appendix C.8 for sampling guidelines and sampling participation notes †, ‡, and ¶.( ) Standard errors appear in parentheses. Because of rounding some results may appear inconsistent.


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Exhibit 1.10: Average Science Achievement by Gender (Continued)


(Absolute Value)


Average Scale Score

Percent of Students

Average Scale Score

Girls Scored Higher

Boys Scored Higher

Sixth Grade Participants

Honduras 51 (1.2) 429 (6.1) 49 (1.2) 436 (6.3) 7 (4.0)Botswana 52 (0.8) 374 (5.8) 48 (0.8) 360 (6.4) 15 (5.2)Yemen 42 (2.5) 355 (8.8) 58 (2.5) 338 (8.4) 17 (10.0)


Dubai, UAE 47 (2.4) 462 (3.8) 53 (2.4) 461 (4.7) 1 (7.3)Ontario, Canada 49 (0.8) 525 (3.1) 51 (0.8) 530 (3.8) 6 (3.4)Quebec, Canada 50 (1.0) 512 (3.0) 50 (1.0) 520 (3.0) 8 (2.4)

2 Alberta, Canada 48 (0.9) 537 (2.9) 52 (0.9) 545 (2.8) 9 (2.8)1 3 Florida, US 51 (0.8) 540 (3.8) 49 (0.8) 549 (4.3) 9 (3.4)1 2 North Carolina, US 51 (1.3) 534 (5.1) 49 (1.3) 543 (4.9) 9 (4.0)

Abu Dhabi, UAE 50 (2.9) 427 (5.8) 50 (2.9) 396 (6.8) 30 (8.6)



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(Absolute Value)


Average Scale Score

Percent of Students

Average Scale Score

Girls Scored Higher

Boys Scored Higher

Chinese Taipei 48 (1.0) 564 (2.7) 52 (1.0) 564 (2.8) 0 (3.0)Norway 49 (0.7) 495 (3.2) 51 (0.7) 494 (3.0) 1 (3.4)

2 Singapore 49 (0.7) 589 (4.2) 51 (0.7) 591 (5.3) 1 (4.1)Hong Kong SAR 49 (1.6) 536 (4.5) 51 (1.6) 534 (3.7) 2 (4.6)Romania 48 (0.9) 466 (3.8) 52 (0.9) 464 (4.0) 2 (3.4)

‡ England 48 (2.0) 534 (5.0) 52 (2.0) 532 (6.2) 2 (5.6)Sweden 48 (0.9) 511 (2.7) 52 (0.9) 508 (3.1) 3 (3.0)Morocco 47 (0.8) 378 (2.6) 53 (0.8) 374 (2.7) 4 (3.0)Kazakhstan 49 (0.8) 492 (4.6) 51 (0.8) 488 (4.6) 4 (3.6)Lebanon 55 (1.9) 404 (5.4) 45 (1.9) 408 (6.5) 4 (6.7)Slovenia 49 (0.9) 541 (3.0) 51 (0.9) 545 (3.4) 4 (3.4)Ukraine 50 (1.0) 499 (3.7) 50 (1.0) 503 (4.3) 4 (4.1)Korea, Rep. of 52 (2.5) 558 (2.6) 48 (2.5) 563 (2.4) 5 (3.1)Finland 48 (1.1) 555 (2.4) 52 (1.1) 550 (3.1) 5 (2.7)Iran, Islamic Rep. of 46 (2.3) 477 (5.3) 54 (2.3) 472 (5.3) 5 (7.0)Syrian Arab Republic 50 (1.7) 424 (4.4) 50 (1.7) 429 (4.9) 6 (5.2)

2 Russian Federation 49 (0.9) 539 (3.6) 51 (0.9) 546 (3.5) 7 (2.9)3 Israel 50 (1.6) 519 (3.7) 50 (1.6) 512 (5.2) 7 (4.2)

Indonesia 50 (1.2) 409 (5.1) 50 (1.2) 402 (4.5) 7 (3.6)Japan 49 (1.1) 554 (2.9) 51 (1.1) 562 (2.9) 8 (3.3)

1 Lithuania 49 (0.7) 518 (3.0) 51 (0.7) 510 (3.1) 8 (3.3)1 Georgia 47 (0.9) 425 (3.3) 53 (0.9) 415 (3.5) 10 (3.4)2 United States 51 (0.6) 519 (2.8) 49 (0.6) 530 (2.9) 11 (2.4)

Malaysia 51 (1.2) 434 (6.3) 49 (1.2) 419 (7.3) 15 (5.5)Thailand 55 (1.6) 458 (3.9) 45 (1.6) 443 (5.2) 15 (4.9)Italy 49 (0.9) 493 (3.1) 51 (0.9) 508 (2.6) 15 (2.8)Chile 53 (1.5) 454 (3.2) 47 (1.5) 470 (2.9) 16 (3.6)Turkey 49 (0.7) 491 (3.2) 51 (0.7) 475 (4.3) 16 (3.2)Australia 50 (1.6) 511 (4.5) 50 (1.6) 527 (6.5) 16 (5.9)Tunisia 52 (0.7) 431 (2.6) 48 (0.7) 447 (2.9) 17 (2.6)Macedonia, Rep. of 49 (0.9) 417 (5.6) 51 (0.9) 399 (6.1) 18 (4.7)Hungary 49 (1.1) 513 (3.5) 51 (1.1) 531 (3.7) 18 (3.7)Armenia 49 (0.8) 446 (3.5) 51 (0.8) 428 (3.6) 18 (3.4)New Zealand 47 (2.0) 501 (4.6) 53 (2.0) 522 (5.1) 20 (3.9)United Arab Emirates 50 (1.7) 477 (2.9) 50 (1.7) 452 (3.3) 25 (4.2)Qatar 50 (3.3) 432 (7.0) 50 (3.3) 406 (5.4) 26 (10.7)Saudi Arabia 48 (1.2) 450 (3.5) 52 (1.2) 424 (6.4) 26 (7.2)Palestinian Nat’l Auth. 52 (1.7) 434 (3.8) 48 (1.7) 406 (5.4) 27 (6.8)

ψ Ghana 47 (0.8) 290 (5.7) 53 (0.8) 320 (5.4) 30 (4.0)Jordan 49 (1.7) 471 (4.3) 51 (1.7) 428 (6.4) 43 (7.6)Bahrain 50 (0.8) 482 (2.2) 50 (0.8) 423 (3.6) 59 (4.4)Oman 51 (2.1) 458 (2.9) 49 (2.1) 380 (4.4) 78 (4.9)International Avg. 50 (0.2) 480 (0.6) 50 (0.2) 474 (0.7)



ψ Reservations about reliability of average achievement because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation does not exceed 25% but exceeds 15%.See Appendix C.3 for target population coverage notes 1, 2, and 3. See Appendix C.9 for sampling guidelines and sampling participation notes †, ‡, and ¶.( ) Standard errors appear in parentheses. Because of rounding some results may appear inconsistent.


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(Absolute Value)


Average Scale Score

Percent of Students

Average Scale Score

Girls Scored Higher

Boys Scored Higher

Ninth Grade Participants

ψ South Africa 48 (1.0) 335 (4.1) 52 (1.0) 328 (4.5) 7 (4.5)Botswana 51 (0.6) 410 (4.3) 49 (0.6) 399 (3.7) 11 (3.6)

2 Honduras 55 (1.0) 360 (4.6) 45 (1.0) 380 (4.1) 20 (3.8)


2 Ontario, Canada 49 (0.9) 521 (2.6) 51 (0.9) 522 (3.0) 1 (2.7)1 2 Connecticut, US 49 (1.0) 530 (4.5) 51 (1.0) 533 (5.9) 3 (5.1)

Quebec, Canada 51 (1.4) 518 (3.0) 49 (1.4) 522 (3.0) 4 (3.0)2 Alberta, Canada 50 (0.9) 542 (2.8) 50 (0.9) 549 (2.5) 6 (2.5)

Abu Dhabi, UAE 47 (2.7) 465 (4.5) 53 (2.7) 458 (6.0) 6 (6.9)1 2 Massachusetts, US 50 (1.0) 564 (5.8) 50 (1.0) 570 (5.1) 7 (3.6)

1 Alabama, US 51 (1.6) 482 (6.3) 49 (1.6) 489 (6.8) 7 (4.0)1 Colorado, US 51 (1.5) 537 (4.7) 49 (1.5) 548 (5.2) 11 (4.5)

1 3 North Carolina, US 52 (1.0) 526 (5.7) 48 (1.0) 537 (7.7) 12 (4.7)1 2 California, US 49 (1.1) 493 (5.0) 51 (1.1) 504 (5.0) 12 (4.0)

1 Minnesota, US 52 (1.5) 548 (4.9) 48 (1.5) 559 (5.3) 12 (3.8)1 2 Florida, US 49 (1.9) 522 (8.5) 51 (1.9) 537 (7.6) 15 (6.8)1 2 Indiana, US 52 (1.1) 526 (4.9) 48 (1.1) 541 (5.4) 15 (4.0)

Dubai, UAE 48 (4.6) 500 (4.6) 52 (4.6) 472 (5.8) 28 (9.3)




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Trends in Science Achievement by GenderExhibits 1.12 and 1.13 show graphic representations across the TIMSS assessments in science achievement of boys and girls for the fourth and eighth grades, respectively. For each country that participated in one or more of the previous TIMSS assessments, these displays show how trends in science achievement have been influenced by differential performance by boys and girls. Because there are many different patterns across countries, the countries are presented in alphabetical order. The scale interval is the same for each country (10 points) to permit comparisons, although the part of scale shown differs according to each country’s average achievement. For countries with gender differences in science achievement, the displays reveal progress (or lack thereof) over time toward gender equity.

As described in the previous section, at the fourth grade, there is already gender equity in science achievement in many countries, but there are also countries where overall achievement is less than it might be if both boys and girls performed at the same high level. Countries in which fourth grade girls performed consistently below boys (i.e., in 2011 and on at least two other TIMSS assessments) include Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the United States. In Germany, Italy, and the Slovak Republic, boys had higher average achievement than girls on the two most recent assessments (2007 and 2011); while in Georgia and Tunisia, girls had higher achievement than boys on these two assessments. Armenia, Hungary, Iran, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and Slovenia had gender differences in earlier assessments but not in TIMSS 2011.

At the eighth grade, with greater gender differences among countries than at the fourth grade, and data from across five TIMSS assessments, trends in science achievement for boys and girls follow a variety of paths. Boys consistently had higher achievement than girls (i.e., in 2011 and in one or more previous assessments) in nine countries: Australia, Chile, Ghana, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, Tunisia, and the United States. A similar pattern of boys outperforming girls also occurred in four benchmarking participants: the states of Indiana, Minnesota, and North Carolina, and the province of Alberta. Conversely, in eight countries—Armenia, Bahrain, Georgia, Jordan, Macedonia, Oman, the Palestinian National Authority, and Thailand—girls had higher achievement than boys in 2011 and in one or more prior assessments; and twelve countries and four benchmarking participants showed no gender difference in 2011, despite having gender differences on one or more previous assessments. Gender differences in average science achievement followed a different pattern in Lithuania and Malaysia; in these countries, girls outperformed boys in 2011 although boys had outperformed girls in at least one prior assessment.


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* Achievement signi�cantly higher than other gender

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Exhibit 1.12: Trends in Science Achievement by Gender◊

Armenia Australia Austria

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Belgium (Flemish) Chinese Taipei Czech Republic

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Denmark England Georgia

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

◊ No fourth-grade assessment in 1999.Scale interval is 10 points for each country, but the part of the scale shown differs according to each country’s average achievement.

Exhibit 1.12: Trends in Science Achievement by Gender◊

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556

559 *

545

547542

590 *

583

582 *

569

516 515

512 514

513

513

Exhibit 1.12: Trends in Science Achievement by Gender◊ (Continued)

Germany Hong Kong SAR Hungary

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Iran, Islamic Rep. of Ireland Italy

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Japan Korea, Rep. of Lithuania

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


SOU

RCE:

IEA

’s Tr

ends

in In

tern

atio

nal M

athe

mat

ics

and

Scie

nce

Stud

y –

TIM

SS 2

011


490

570

490

570

450

530

470

550

450

530

500

580

450

530

490

570

510

590

528 *537 *

518

526

544 *

529 *

518 521

506497

502496

511 *

523

499

517 478

496

475

492

509 *

467

497

466

524

519

454

449

548553

544

552527

526

587 585

587581

526

565

521

565

530 *536 *

521528

518 523

518 517

470 *

491

458

490

526

535

524

532


BoysGirls


Netherlands New Zealand Norway

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Portugal Russian Federation Singapore

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Slovak Republic Slovenia Sweden

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


SOU

RCE:

IEA

’s Tr

ends

in In

tern

atio

nal M

athe

mat

ics

and

Scie

nce

Stud

y –

TIM

SS 2

011


420

500

490

570

480

560

500

580

290

370

510

590

335 *

359 *

304

334316

312

541549 *

536 539

548 *538 *

536533

545 545 *

540 537

558

552

539

530

532525

518

543

513

537

518 520 *

516512

532

501524

500

473 *462

448

461


BoysGirls


Tunisia United States

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


Alberta, Canada Ontario, Canada Quebec, Canada

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Dubai, UAE

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


SOU

RCE:

IEA

’s Tr

ends

in In

tern

atio

nal M

athe

mat

ics

and

Scie

nce

Stud

y –

TIM

SS 2

011


490

570

390

470

380

460

530

610

420

500

480

560

410

490

240

320

500

580

446 *

428

468 *

455

524 *527 *

505511

520 *

537 *

508

517

499 *

482 *

437

423

453 *

423

409

470 *

454427 *

398

432 *563

561

564

559564

572

571

578 * 546

522

534

537532

543 *550 *

522

538

554 *

530

531

528

540 * 432 *425 *

410415

316 * 320 *

288 290271 *

236

* Achievement significantly higher than other gender

BoysGirls

Exhibit 1.13: Trends in Science Achievement by Gender

Armenia Australia Bahrain

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Chile Chinese Taipei England

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Finland (7) Georgia Ghana

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Scale interval is 10 points for each country, but the part of the scale shown differs according to each country’s average achievement.

Exhibit 1.13: Trends in Science Achievement by Gender

SOU

RCE:

IEA

’s Tr

ends

in In

tern

atio

nal M

athe

mat

ics

and

Scie

nce

Stud

y –

TIM

SS 2

011


490

570

420

500

410

490

500

580

510

590

460

540

380

460

360

440

510

590

533

522

536

528534

525 *

561 *

492

552537 *

545 *

540

531 *

533

513

549 *556 *

525530

565 *

428

409 *426

402

466

430

477

453

472

475 *

454

448453

461 *

499 *

484

508 *

491 493

496 *

486

503 *556

543

562 *

552 554

564 *557 *

544548

556 *

499 *

442

471 *

466

428

489 *

462

460 *557 *

538

563

549558

559 * 564 *

530

552

559 *417

408

410404

395

392


BoysGirls

Exhibit 1.13: Trends in Science Achievement by Gender (Continued)

Hong Kong SAR Hungary Indonesia

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Iran, Islamic Rep. of Italy Japan

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Jordan Korea, Rep. of Lebanon

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


SOU

RCE:

IEA

’s Tr

ends

in In

tern

atio

nal M

athe

mat

ics

and

Scie

nce

Stud

y –

TIM

SS 2

011


450

530

370

450

470

550

390

470

430

510

460

540

430

510

490

570

380

460

519

478

518 *

518

510

477 *

522 *

452

516499 * 458

417 *

399

454 *

445

458

475488

434 *

466

419

515 *

505

498

506

522 *

501

524 * 525

497

515

513

487495

486494

523 *

498 *506

490

452 *458 *

391

380

422 *

434 *

386

406

441 *

428466 *

468

466

458464

478 *474 *

464 465

475 533

519

546 *

527

539

530 * 519 *

516

508

540 *


BoysGirls


Lithuania Macedonia, Rep. of Malaysia

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

New Zealand Norway Oman

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Palestinian Nat’l Auth. Romania Russian Federation

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


SOU

RCE:

IEA

’s Tr

ends

in In

tern

atio

nal M

athe

mat

ics

and

Scie

nce

Stud

y –

TIM

SS 2

011


530

610

450

530

400

480

490

570

480

560

420

500

490

570

380

460

571

557

591

563

589

587

579

574576

578 * 539545

536 541524 * 524 *

505

517

512 511

510508

559 *

528 *546

521

457 *

429448

424

480 *

481458 *

462

443

484

455 *

417

447 *

436431

416 *

392

442 *

486

503

484

499

526 *

505

530 *

514519

520 *

536 *

505

519

524 *


BoysGirls


Singapore Slovenia Sweden

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Syrian Arab Republic Thailand Tunisia

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Ukraine United States

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


SOU

RCE:

IEA

’s Tr

ends

in In

tern

atio

nal M

athe

mat

ics

and

Scie

nce

Stud

y –

TIM

SS 2

011


510

590

510

590

450

530

470

550

510

590

490

570

480

560

480

560

490

570

548

549 *

542

559 *

540

569 * 531 *

509

522

521 521506 *

540 *

488

526

527 *

511

536 522

503518

514

540 *

506

522

545

495500 *

483

472518

533

530

542 *

523

541 *

526

540 *

521

545 *

561 *

527

570

551

564540 * 542

559 *

535

548

553 *

534498

537 *

526

520 *


BoysGirls



Alberta, Canada Ontario, Canada Quebec, Canada

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Dubai, UAE Connecticut, US Indiana, US

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011

Massachusetts, US Minnesota, US North Carolina, US

1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011


SOU

RCE:

IEA

’s Tr

ends

in In

tern

atio

nal M

athe

mat

ics

and

Scie

nce

Stud

y –

TIM

SS 2

011

Documents

International Student Achievement in Science · Turkey 463 (4.5) i 1 Georgia 455 (3.8) i Iran, Islamic Rep. of 453 (3.7) i Bahrain 449 (3.5) i 1